The Pre-Listing Inspection is now More Valuable Than Ever!!

With the market still focusing on a shortened market time, limited access to the home and multiple offers, it has become even more important to do your due diligence when getting into a real estate transaction, whether you're buying or selling.

In my 16 years in the home inspection business, I have never seen the market as crazy as it has been in the last two years. Sure the pandemic reduces the face to face time but it is the lack of inventory and the need for people to buy a home that puts everyone in a "gotta do it now" way of thinking. With everything moving so fast, the typical conditional offer has unfortunately all but gone by the way side. Buyers don't always have the time to perform a pre-offer home inspection to meet the deadline to make an educated offer to purchase, and with the limited time restraints for showings, they are sometimes not provided the time needed have an inspection to go through the home properly.

Now enters the quick "walk through inspection". I don't know what "intelligent person" decided that a 2 ? - 3 hour home inspection can be done in 30-45 minutes, but doing this is a complete dis-service to the client and the home you are looking at. You can't possibly learn enough about a home in a 45 minute walk through. Any home inspector who provides this service should rethink their profession goals, the many hours of training and education they have, and why they got into the business. If it's the quick tax free $200.00 in your pocket, then all the best to you. By providing this service, you are actually killing your own industry. There! Done my rant!!

Home Owners can protect themselves when selling!!

Yes it's true! A home owner who invests in a Pre-Listing Inspection provides a prospective buyer with a Pre-Listing Home Inspection Report done by a third party agency can protect themselves. At that point they are removing any doubt that they are concealing something about the home. They have just put the onus on the Home Inspector to disclose everything on the home.

That is a very effective tool.

A detailed home inspection and subsequent report can take the unknowns out of the home. As well, by doing your due-diligence and having a pre-listing inspection done, you as a seller will have all the information on the home, so you can strategically repair or replace items you feel you need to, or to pass on to a potential buyer what they need to know moving forward into their new home, or a "honey do list".

But what if the Home Inspector finds something?

Well that is what the inspection is for, and trust me, I will. There is not a home out there, and I don't care how well maintained or how well kept it is, that won't have something to speak about. The point of the home inspection is to find exactly that, and in most cases there are generally lots of little things. It is also to discover and disclose the valuable information about the home, like the age and condition of the roof, the furnace and A/C unit, a general overview and system functionality of the HVAC, electrical and pluming systems, and to identify any issues with the structure or foundation of the home. These are all positive things when a potential buyer is considering your home and reading a report, to not find something major wrong. And not to re-open my rant, but everything I just mentioned takes more than 45 minutes to inspect, and I haven't gone into any of the rooms of the home yet, opened any of the systems panels, or stuck my head in the attic (that's the scary place upstairs).

What if the buyer doesn't trust the Pre-Listing Inspection report or the Inspector because their working for the Seller or the Listing Agent?

"The inspector's in their back pocket". This misconception or way of thinking has gone on for decades, even long before I got into the business. We all know that there is corruption in every type of business, and I'm sure there is still some in the real estate world, but in the home inspection industry this thought process is old style thinking. The more accurate way to look at it is, who is the inspector that did the inspection, and are they competent and trained in their industry. The inspector carries a lot of liability in what they do so it would be ludacris to miss or not report something to help a client or agent conceal something just to help sell the home.

As a buyer, it is important when reviewing an Inspection Report provided by a listing agent to know who performed the inspection and prepared the report. With the power of the internet and the Google machine, it should take you all of 5 minutes to determine if the inspector the seller or the listing agent hired is competent. In most cases, your agent or someone from their office will have heard of the inspector. Our world is that small and reputations are a powerful tool, good or bad.

Rockburn Home Inspection taking the Next Step in Service!!

Now, with every pre-listing inspection provided by Rockburn Home Inspection, the purchaser of the home and end user of the report has the option of purchasing a 1 or 2 hour consultation. This means the new owner of the home can utilize the report to it's full potential by speaking to, and meeting the author. Either on site or by phone, the new owner of the home can go through the report page by page, or the home room by room. The goal with this new service to ensure that the new home owner can move in and I can help you in the process of "Understanding Your Home".

So? Who Wins?

Essentially everyone does! Buyer Agents can take advantage of this new service by purchasing or "gifting" the service to their client as a house warming gift or adding it to their full service package. The Listing Agent can purchase the service and "gift" it to the new home owner as a service and a full disclosure that the inspection is not only valid, but the inspection service they used is fully professional in what they do. It would certainly be appreciated by the buying agent as a show of good faith. As a Home Inspection Service, I get the satisfaction of knowing that the new home owner will utilize the report as it is intended in "Understanding Their Home".

Please contact me should you have any questions about this Post Purchase Consultation Service. I look forward to helping any way I can.

www.rockburnhomeinspection.com (613) 447-ROCK (7625)